Steven Emil Schneider (October 16, 1949 – April 19, 1993[1]) was an American Branch Davidian commonly called a "lieutenant" to David Koresh, the leader of the new religious movement.
[5][6] Schneider studied at Newbold College in the United Kingdom, and eventually worked to receive a Ph.D. in comparative religion at the University of Hawaiʻi.
[9] Scholars James Tabor and Eugene Gallagher note that he claimed to have converted twenty people on a trip to England in 1988.
[6][15] Steve was unable to find a job while working on his Ph.D. – he supposedly wanted to evangelize but found no church he felt worthy of his services until meeting a Branch Davidian.
[15] The exact date of his conversion is unknown, but Tabor and Gallagher note that a videotape of a South Carolina Bible study from 1987 features Schneider, implying he converted in about 1986.
As David Koresh's "right-hand man,"[16] "lieutenant,"[17] or "deputy,"[18] Schneider held a significant amount of organizational power among the Davidians.
Steve Schneider answered, spoke with the FBI agents on the other end, reportedly slammed the telephone on the receiver, and pulled the phone from the wall.